Dana White não se intimida com o crescimento do Bellator. Foto: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LCC via Getty Images

O UFC é, indiscutivelmente, a maior empresa de MMA do planeta. Porém, outras grandes organizações estão sempre na cola do Ultimate, como o Bellator, WSOF, Dream, e outros. O mais promissor dos concorrentes, o Bellator, vem cada vez mais aprimorando seu formato de GP e contratando novos atletas para seu quadro de lutadores.

A respeito da concorrência, Dana White, presidente do UFC, não parece se incomodar com a ascensão da organização de Bjorn Rebney, e é enfático ao cravar que não sente que o Bellator pode ameaçar o reinado do UFC:

“Eles nunca serão tão bons quanto nós somos. Nós fazemos isso 24 horas por dia, sete dias por semana. Natal, Páscoa, Ação de Graças, lá estou eu, no telefone, resolvendo quaisquer problemas no negócio. Essa é a principal diferença entre nós e o resto”, disse Dana em entrevista ao MMA Junkie.

Alguns fãs do MMA preferem o formato do Bellator, mais justo no quesito merecimento ao cinturão, reforçado pelo fato dos desafiantes ao título correrem um GP eliminatório antes de enfrentar o detentor da cinta. Porém, Dana segue com seu estilo de show e, com a ajuda do matchmaker Joe Silva, continua trazendo os embates mais emocionantes do mundo da luta. Seguindo o ranking ou não, White se mostra certo de que não será ameaçado de perder o topo do MMA mundial:

“Ninguém vai trabalhar mais ou nos sobrepujar no ramo. Isso nunca vai acontecer. É impossível”, cravou o confiante manda-chuva do UFC.

E na sua opinião, leitor, existe alguma maneira do Bellator, ou outra organização de MMA, se tornar um dia tão grande, ou até maior, que o Ultimate? Comente conosco!

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney (Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)

Bellator Fighting Championships will make their 2013 debut on Spike TV on Thursday, Jan. 17, and the broadcast will feature two title fights, the company announced on Tuesday.

Lightweight champion Mike Chandler will defend his title against Season 6 tournament winner Rick Hawn, and Pat Curran will defend his featherweight belt against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire on the Spike TV debut. The event will take place at The University of California, Irvine’s Bren Center in Irvine, Calif.

The company also announced that their second broadcast will be Jan. 24, which will feature welterweight champion Ben Askren defending his title against Karl Amoussou. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal will also be on the second event, but an opponent is yet to be determined. Lawal will have specials dedicated to him airing between the first and second Bellator broadcasts on the network.

Bellator will air events every Thursday for 12 straight weeks, officials said, and broadcasts will start at 10 p.m. ET. Viewers on the West Coast with a dish can watch the fights live at 7 p.m. PT, but cable subscribers will have to wait for a tape delay at 10 p.m. PT.

Five tournaments will take place during the upcoming season, including those in the 145-, 155-, 170-, 185- and 205-pound weight classes. Fighters such as Lawal, UFC veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli will be in the 205-pound tournament, while Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima will be in the 170-pound bracket. Others will be added in the near future.

Bellator’s biggest competitor, the UFC, has long presented itself as a Pay-Per-View company. Bellator, however, has made their reputation through cable networks, most recently with MTV2 and next year with Spike — a network that used to host UFC Fight Night cards. When asked, company CEO Bjorn Rebney said there are no immediate plans for a Bellator Pay-Per-View.

Officials said the company is currently casting for its first fight-based reality show, but plans for its debut are still being worked out.

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Bellator Fighting Championships will introduce a “Championship Fight Rematch Clause” when the company debuts on Spike TV in 2013, according to an open letter sent to fans Monday by company CEO Bjorn Rebney.

The clause states that when a fighter has earned a shot at a title by winning the Toughest Competition in Sports Tournament, and competes in an incredible title fight that “knocks fans back in our seats,” the company will grant the rematch.

“When a rematch is called for, we’ll deliver it,” Rebney said in the letter.

“Championship fights give us some of the greatest moments in MMA.  And, re-matches of incredible championship fights will give fans like us more of those electrifying moments, while staying true to the world’s best fighters having had to earn their way to those title shots.”

Rebney added that their focus is to constantly improve their televised and live events week to week, stressing that a large part of the company’s improvement is listening to fan feedback. Bellator is committed to this move, Rebney said, and considers this the next step in the company’s evolution.

“I listen to what you think and what you want to see,” he said. “Your input legitimately influences what we do.  I never forget that if it were not for you, MMA fans, and our incredibly talented fighters, Bellator would have been nothing more than an idea in my head.”

Bellator will begin airing on Spike TV in January, and is expected to begin an MMA-based reality show shortly thereafter.

Daniel Gracie, em foto de Susumu Nagao.

Com cinco vitórias, duas derrotas e um empate, Daniel Gracie voltou a lutar recentemente, depois de quatro anos afastado.

A vitória foi no Israel Fighting Championship, em novembro, quando finalizou Martin Wojcik com um mata-leão ainda mo primeiro round.

Agora o Gracie estará de volta nos EUA, no GP de meio-pesados que o Bellator organiza em 2011.

“A família Gracie tem grande influência no que conhecemos sobre MMA hoje e estou orgulhoso de dizer que essa história continua quando Daniel pisar no cage do Bellator para tentar se tornar campeão de meio-pesados. A volta de um Gracie num evento no formato de torneio é algo que estou animado em ver”, comentou o dirigente da organização Bjorn Rebney.

“Só tenho em minha mente vencer esse torneio. Sei que tudo pode acontecer no MMA, mas uma coisa posso garantir: vou dar um grande show, podem apostar”, fala Daniel, que treina com Renzo Gracie.

Daniel Gracie in photo by Susumu Nagao

With five wins, two losses, and one draw, Daniel Gracie recently returned to fighting after four years on the sidelines.

His latest win came in November at Israel Fighting Championship, where he submitted Martin Woicik with a first-round rear-naked choke.

Now the Gracie has another fight lined up, at the Bellator light heavyweight GP to take place in 2011 in the United States.

“The Gracie family has great influence over the MMA we know today and I’m pround to say that that history continues when Daniel steps into the Bellator cage to try for the light heavyweight-tournament title. The return of a Gracie to a tournament-format event is something I’m excited about seeing,” said promoter Bjorn Rebney.

“All I’m thinking about is winning this tournament. I know in MMA anything can happen, but one thing I guarantee is that I’m going to put on a great show, you can bet on it,” says Daniel, who trains with Renzo Gracie.

Photo: publicity

Having had three fights Stateside in the Bellator promotion, Patrício “Pitbull” Freire now has a date and opponent for his fourth, against the USA’s Anthony Morrison in Philadelphia on October 21.

According to Bellator president Bjorn Rebney, Pitbull is taking the bout to keep in rhythm, as the fighter already has a berth at the next Bellator under-66kg (under-145kg) GP. Patrício holds a record of 14 wins and just one loss, and dreams of his brother, Patricky Pitbull, signing with the promotion.

“Together with my manager, we spoke to the president of the event and he said that my brother being in the under-70 kg (under-155 lbs) GP. I’m really happy to be fighting at Bellator and having a chance for my brother to fight there, too,” remarks the fighter from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte.

Foto: divulgação

Depois de fazer três combates nos EUA pelo Bellator, Patricio Pitbull agora já tem data marcada para retornar ao cage. Desta vez, o brasileiro enfrentará o americano Anthony Morrison, na Filadélfia, no dia 21 de outubro, mais uma bela oportunidade para o atleta do Rio Grande do Norte.

Segundo o presidente do Bellator Bjorn Rebney, Pitbull fará este combate para não perder o ritmo, já que o atleta já tem vaga garantida no próximo GP do Bellator até 66kg. Patrício “Pitbull” Freire possui um recorde de 14 vitórias com apenas uma derrota e já sonha em ver seu irmão, Patricky Pitbull, assinado com o Bellator

“Juntamente com meu empresário, conversamos com o presidente do evento e ele disse que é praticamente certa a presença do meu irmão no GP até 70kg. Estou muito contente em lutar no Bellator e com a possibilidade de o meu irmão entrar também”, comenta o atleta.